Vacuum cleaners having a cyclonic separator are now well known. The inlet and outlet to the cyclonic separator are often located at an upper part of the cyclonic separator. Fluid drawn in through a cleaner head is then carried to the inlet via upstream ducting. Fluid discharged from the outlet is then carried to a suction source via downstream ducting. The upstream and downstream ducting generally impact on the size of the vacuum cleaner. Additionally, owing to the relative locations of the cleaner head, the cyclonic separator and the suction source, the paths followed by the ducting are often tortuous, thus adversely affecting the performance of the vacuum cleaner.